Beneath the Surface: Secrets of an Obsessed Heart
Chapter 164 - 163

Chapter 164: Chapter 163

She stiffened. “What?”

“You heard me.” Raiden’s voice was icy, his smokey grey eyes sharp, devoid of any mirth which let them realise he was being serious.

He untwined his arm from Hiro’s and stepped behind him, resting both hands on his shoulders before gently nudging him forward.

Hiro blinked, startled, as he stood before the four frowning people.

“R-Raiden...” he whispered, his voice trembling.

Raiden’s grip on his shoulders tightened protectively.

“This,” he said, his voice steady and firm, “is Watanabe Hiro. My partner. My lover. My boyfriend.”

He stared each of them down in turn—his father, his stepmother, Mr. Takahashi, and finally, the girl.

“Do you get it now?”

Silence settled over the study, heavy and suffocating, the faces of the four covered in complete shock.

Hiro on the other hand, though stunned, felt warmth flood his chest, the ache from before slowly fading. The tears in his eyes didn’t rescind. Instead, they flowed down his cheeks but they weren’t tears of pain or heartbreak anymore. They were of joy and disbelief.

Raiden had introduced him as his boyfriend. Raiden wasn’t ashamed of him. He had thought that Raiden didn’t want others to be together, like he was some dirty secret or something but he was happy to know that wasn’t the case.

“Mr. Yamato, what is the meaning of this?!” Mr. Takahashi suddenly exploded, his face turning red with fury. “We came here expecting a marriage alliance, not a public insult!”

He grabbed his daughter’s hand and turned toward the door. “We’re leaving. And forget any chance of collaborating with us now or in the future.”

“Mr Takahashi,” Raiden’s father called, trying to stop him. “Please wait, this is a misunderstanding. Raiden is just confused-”

“Confused?” The furious Mr Takahashi turned and pointed at Raiden. “You call that confused? Do you think I’m blind? That boy is clearly Watanabe’s son! The same boy that your son pinned after for years! You think I don’t know about that?!”

“Mr Takahashi please, let’s just talk.” Raiden’s father pleaded.

“It is no coincidence that they are here, together now.” Mr Takahashi spat, glaring at Raiden’s father. “If your son came here with someone else, I would have believed that we could still discuss something but I’m not getting involved in this and I will not set up my daughter with someone who doesn’t give a damn about her.”

He then stepped closer to Mr Yamato, lowering his voice. “How much your son loves that boy, you know more than us. Raiden is too powerful now and he’s no longer under your control. The sooner you let him go, the better for you and your wife.”

He grabbed his daughter, stormed out, and slammed the door shut behind them with a bang.

Raiden smirked, satisfied. Like he had heard, Mr Takahashi was truly a smart man. He knew how to read between the lines and make appropriate decisions.

He pulled Hiro close and turned him around only to see tears still trickling down his soft cheeks.

His heart softened. “Oh, baby...” he whispered, wiping away the tears with his thumb. The rims of his eyes and the tip of his nose were slightly red. His bottom lip kept quivering and he sniffled, gazing into Raiden’s eyes.

Hiro looked so vulnerable. Like he didn’t know what he would do without Raiden and Raiden loved it. He loved that Hiro needed him. That Hiro was dependent on him.

“You imbecile!” his father suddenly roared, his face twisted with rage. He stormed toward Raiden, hand raised. “You worthless filth!”

The slap came down but it didn’t land on Raiden. Hiro had intentionally turned at that moment and pushed Raiden back slightly.

The sharp sound echoed as the palm connected with the side of Hiro’s head—just above his temple—and Hiro crumpled to the carpeted floor with a cry of pain, clutching his head.

Raiden froze, the sound still ringing in his ears. Everything had happened so fast. He never expected Hiro to push him away.

“Hiro,” he gasped, instantly kneeling. He gathered Hiro into his arms, cradling his head gently. A red mark was already forming near the soft skin above his temple.

Raiden’s brows furrowed dangerously as his gaze snapped upward. The look in Raiden’s eyes could have frozen hell.

“How dare you?” he said coldly, his voice sharp.

Mr Yamato flinched in fear but quickly composed himself and sneered. “How dare I? How dare you, you ungrateful bastard? I secured you a fine match and you throw it all away for this pathetic little whore?” He spat on the floor, pointing a shaking hand at Hiro. “Is this what I raised you to be? A faggot chasing after some gay slut?!”

The room dropped several degrees.

Raiden’s jaw clenched, his fists curling so tightly his knuckles turned white. He made a move to stand but felt a soft tug on his pants and looked down.

Hiro reached out with trembling fingers, clutching at him. “Don’t,” he whispered, shaking his head. “Don’t do it. I’m okay.”

Raiden cursed under his breath. Every instinct screamed at him to retaliate. To ruin the man who dared lay a finger on Hiro. It was okay if his father beat him but Hiro? He really couldn’t take it.

Still, Hiro kept looking up at him with those pleading beautiful light brown orbs, glittering with specks of gold and he couldn’t find it in his heart to do ashe wished.

With a heavy exhale, he bent down and carefully gathered Hiro into his arms, lifting him in a bridal carry. Then, slowly, he turned back toward his father, his smokey grey eyes full of tamed rage. It was like he was using every ounce of his willpower to force back his anger.

“I am not the Raiden you used to beat,” he said, his voice low and clear. “I am no longer the scared child who cowered under your fists or begged for your scraps of approval. If you want to live and die peacefully, stay out of my business and my life.”

Raiden’s eyes narrowed, and his next words came with bone-cutting weight:

“And the next time you dare insult Hiro, will be the last time you ever speak. That’s not a threat, Father. It’s a promise.”

With that, he turned and walked out with Hiro in his arms.

Behind them, Mr Yamato flew into rage, shouting and throwing all the things on his table away. He was beyond furious. Raiden had never spoken to him this way before.

The boy had slipped from his control the moment he walked out of juvenile detention. He just disappeared, never bothering to call or come home. At first, he never cared, thinking the boy was just rebelling. He froze all his bank accounts, thinking that Raiden would have to come home when he started to starve but Raiden never did.

And when he reappeared, he was already a powerful person. A big business owner who instilled fear in the hearts of all his competitors.

He then learnt that Raiden had gone overseas after being released from Juvy. He didn’t know how the boy survived or what he did but in a matter of four years, Raiden built a business overseas which had quickly become something monstrous, impressive, and untouchable.

Compared to it, the Yamato family’s empire in Tokyo looked like a convenience store next to a skyscraper.

He didn’t know how Raiden had done it, or who had helped him, but the truth was glaring; he could no longer control Raiden and it pissed him off.